Joy, displaying the epitome of noble elegance that would earn applause from etiquette teachers, ate her meal gracefully, while Faybi, smiling gently beside her, moved her hands with not a singlehint of disarray. Watching the two of them, I couldn’t help but suppress the grin creeping onto my face.
Thank goodness for the Mesugaki skill.
If it weren’t for that, I’d probably be smiling like some creepy old man by now.
I’ve always wanted to eat with other people.
Eating alone, with no one to talk to, is incredibly lonely!
At home, it’s fine!
But at the academy, sitting by myself while everyone around me laughs and chats with their friends? It’s like the universe is reminding me how alone I am!
At least, that’s how it felt to me.
If I didn’t have the old man to chat with mentally, I’d probably have died of loneliness, like a rabbit left all alone!
But now, at this very moment, I was fulfilling my dream of having a meal with others at the academy.
And it wasn’t just with anyone.
I was eating with Joy, who, when asked “Who do you like best at Soul Academy?” would always come up as the obvious answer.
And Faybi, who was such an essential character that she became a must-have for various challenges in my world—naturally, I’d grown fond of her too.
How could I not be happy eating with these two?
Ah, just watching the two of them chat while eating makes me feel full.
Is this what it’s like to be a mother?
It’s pure bliss.
<Ho. Well, that’s fortunate.>
‘I know, right? I’m so happy they’re eating with me.’
<...Hmm. I meant that in a political sense, but if you're happy, then that’s all that matters.>
‘Political sense?’
After hearing the old man’s words, I gave it some thought and finally understood.
Up until this point, I was lost in the dream-like scenario of eating with them, so I hadn’t fully grasped the situation. But now that I was more grounded, the answer was clear.
Joy and Faybi are close friends. That’s a well-known fact. They’ve been friends since they were very young.
So if I had really bullied Faybi, the person who would be most upset about it would be Joy.
Of course, Joy and I are somewhat close too, and she’s indebted to me, so she probably wouldn’t lash out too aggressively.
But if I had genuinely tormented Faybi, Joy wouldn’t be sitting here, eating with us.
Sure, Joy can be a bit airheaded, but she knows when to act.
In other words, Joy joining us for a meal was a clear sign that there was no real problem between Faybi and me. Joy, the daughter of the Patrane Duke family, was implicitly vouching for that.
When I summarized my thoughts to the old man, he chuckled.
<Hoho. You’ve grown a bit wiser.>
‘It’s all thanks to you, grandpa.’
I’ve naturally picked up a lot from the old man, just by listening to his insights whenever something happened.
When I complimented him, he let out a pleased laugh.
‘Do you think Joy planned this?’
<Most likely. She may be airheaded, but she’s still a duke’s daughter.>
‘Impressive.’
Seeing Joy, who normally comes across as a bit scatterbrained, act in such a dignified manner naturally made me feel a bit of admiration.
Right. Unlike me, who has no aristocratic knowledge whatsoever, Joy was born and raised as a noble lady in a duke’s household.
There’s no way she did this without thinking it through.
‘And I’m thankful too.’
Thanks to Joy taking the initiative, the nasty rumors about me would likely die down quite a bit.
Unlike me, who has no influence at the academy due to my plummeting reputation, Joy remains at the center of the social circle.
Anyone who dares to continue spreading the rumor despite Joy’s open refutation would likely face the wrath of the other noble ladies.
I, for one, bulldozed my way through the situation with brute force, but others don’t have that luxury.
Going up against the wrath of noble ladies? That’s asking for trouble. From what I’ve seen in games, aristocratic bullying is subtle but brutal.
‘I’ll have to give her something in return later.’
I may not be able to express my gratitude in words due to the Mesugaki skill, but I can still give gifts, right?
So instead of thanking her verbally, I’ll show my appreciation through a present.
This sounds like something a stoic man would do. Like, “Here. I picked this up for you.”
I need to visit the auction house during the break anyway, so I’ll pick out a gift for Joy then.
Now that I think about it, I have quite a few people to buy gifts for.
I owe Karl something.
I also promised Asa a gift.
I should give Benedict something too, after making him worry so much.
And I can’t forget about the Alrn family’s knights.
As I mentally tallied up all the people I needed to buy gifts for, I felt a frown forming on my face.
When I factor in what I need for myself, I’m going to need a lot of money. A lot of money.
“Miss Alrn, what are you thinking about so deeply?”
Joy’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts, her concerned expression melting away my worries.
I can deal with all that later.
What matters is enjoying this moment!
Tomorrow, I’ll probably be eating alone again, so I can’t waste this happy time worrying!
‘Oh, it’s nothing.’
“I was just thinking how airheaded you look while eating, as always.”
“...What part of me looks airheaded? I’m following proper etiquette, thank you very much.”
‘Exactly. What part of her is airheaded?’
“You really don’t get it? Pffft. It’s because you’re so clueless that I call you an airhead, you airhead.”
“And where exactly am I clueless?”
Joy raised her voice, refusing to accept that she was airheaded, but that only made her even more adorable, stoking my mischievous urges.
How could I resist teasing her when she’s this cute?
“You can’t even figure it out yourself?♡ A spoiled noble lady♡ When are you going to stop living in mommy’s lap?♡ How pathetic♡”
“I am not...!”
This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.
“Pffft.”
Even Faybi, who had been trying so hard to hold back her laughter, couldn’t help but burst out at Joy’s flustered reaction.
Joy shot a glare at Faybi, but it was clear Faybi was too focused on stifling her own laughter to pay attention.
Hearing Faybi snicker seemed to irritate Joy even more, as a deep frown appeared on her face.
“What’s wrong with my perfect etiquette?!”
“If you’re so clueless, you should at least try harder!♡ Come on, think for yourself, you useless airhead noble♡”
“Uuugh...”
Watching Joy bite her lip and finally cover her face with her fan, I couldn’t help but laugh.
This is definitely the Mesugaki skill at work.
There’s no way I’d enjoy bullying someone just for fun.
Thanks to the rumors about me bullying Faybi, I had the chance to eat with both Joy and Faybi, and now I was heading to the faculty office feeling more relaxed than I had in a while.
Ah, just thinking about how Joy got all flustered makes me smile.
Whoever started that rumor, thanks. I owe you one.
But of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to forgive you.
I’m not about to let someone off the hook for spreading malicious rumors.
Once I find out who it is, they’ll get to experience the full brunt of my Mesugaki skill. Can’t wait to see how much they’ll enjoy that.
While pondering exactly how to torment the culprit, I soon arrived at the faculty office where the combat professors were stationed.
I was here because of something Faybi had mentioned during our last conversation.
The rumors about Nakrad, and the mysterious man in black who provides information.
This guy, by offering students what they want to know, was likely planting darkness in many of them.
Just like he did with Faybi.
If left unchecked, that darkness would surely be used for ill purposes down the road, so I needed to deal with it ahead of time.
Faybi should really be the one to speak up about this, but considering her current mental state, telling her that she has the dark magic of an evil god inside her wasn’t an option.
So, I’ll handle it.
“What brings you here, miss?”
As soon as I opened the door and stepped inside, Karl’s voice greeted me from nearby.
‘Hey, Karl.’
“Hey, useless.”
“Yes, miss? What’s the matter?”
‘How did you know I was coming here?’
“I sensed your presence as you were walking down the hallway.”
So, he detected me while working and prepared in advance?
That’s... an unnecessarily impressive skill.
While I was amazed by his ability—something far beyond my current capabilities—I couldn’t help but feel... uncomfortable.
“Creepy.”
It makes sense, though. Karl probably uses that skill to track my movements, claiming it’s his duty as a knight to stay close to his master.
Karl, unbothered by my unfiltered distaste, staggered back, looking utterly devastated, like a puppy that had just been scolded.
Even though I almost felt bad seeing his defeated expression, I wasn’t going to fall for it.
I’ll have to ask later if he’s been using that skill for anything else. I bet he has.
Successfully “defeating” Karl, I walked over to Anton, who was in the center of the faculty office.
Ever since the field trip, Anton had been treating me kindly. He greeted me with a smile.
“What brings you here, Miss Alrn?”
‘I have something to discuss.’
“Of course, you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t have something to say, you useless professor.”
I explained to Anton everything I knew about the rumors spreading in the academy and about Nakrad.
To someone else, it might have sounded like baseless nonsense, but Anton listened carefully.
Of course, he did. After all, I was the one speaking!
I’m the one who single-handedly fought off the Apostle of the Evil God who attacked the academy and also stopped them from pulling a stunt on Faybi.
Having real experience dealing with Apostles of the Evil God lends some weight to what I say.
“It’s possible that some of the students have been tainted with the dark magic planted by the Apostle of the Evil God.”
‘Exactly. So...’
“Pretty quick for a useless professor. You’re right. Some of these idiots probably don’t even realize what kind of mess they’ve gotten themselves into, so we need to conduct a thorough investigation.”
Nakrad worships the Evil God of Darkness, so the power he plants follows that god’s characteristics—shadowy and difficult to detect.
We’d need to work with the church to find and cleanse anyone who’s been tainted.
After I explained this to him, Anton nodded.
“Understood, Miss Alrn. I’ll contact the church and arrange a meeting.”
‘You better follow through.’
“If you brush this off, useless professor, I’ll pluck out every one of your bearded hairs.”
“Haha. Don’t worry. With your loyal knight right here, I wouldn’t dare.”
Alright. That should take care of things inside the academy.
I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Nakrad’s face twisting in frustration when he realized his plans had been thwarted.
Looks like I can relax a bit when finals roll around.
I’ll ask Joy to study with me!